ALL nine people who packed into a twin cab 4x4 vehicle have died when the car plunged off the ferry ramp and into the river around 3pm at the crossing near the coastal village of Triso in Sebuyau, about 70km from Kuching.

The deaths were confirmed around 7pm by Beladin health clinic medical officer Awang Mohd Hamizan Awang Indra.

The clinic, some 33km from the scene of the accident, is the nearest medical facility.

The victims have been identified as Ronany Ting, the 33-year-old female driver, Siti Aisha Abdullah, 36; four-month old infant Mohd Ahmad Mohd Hamdan; his elder brothers Muhd Mustaqim Mohd Hamdan, 5; Mohd Aiman Mohd Hamdan, 7; Wallace Phang, also 7; his elder brother Alvin, 12 and two teenagers Khairunnisa Muhamad, 14 and Nor Shuhada Mohamad, 16.

The Fire and Rescue Department, which sent two teams from two fire stations – Simunjan, which is 62km from the scene, and Saratok, which is 98km away – followed the incident via the FB account of a Dayang Junailah Leyent while their teams raced to the scene.

In Dayang’s 7-minute-recording, eight bodies were seen retrieved from the almost submerged vehicle that landed on its right side just a few metres from the ramp.

The recording had since been removed from Dayang’s page.

The vehicle was later secured by a rope to the ramp of the ferry to prevent it from going completely under in the rising tide.

All the bodies retrieved appeared lifeless despite the frantic attempts by some of the rescuers to resuscitate them by giving the CPR and chest pumps.

The team of nine men from the Saratok fire station, which reached the scene first in a 4x4, reported that five of the nine victims were males.

The team are still awaiting the arrival of the police to take custody of the bodies and transport them to the nearest health clinic at Beladin for a confirmation of their death. – January 1, 2021.